You Know You Love Me
by Tobirion
Summary: Cloud is in love with Zack, or so Zack says.  Cloud is getting more than a little sick of it.  Zack/Cloud, birthday fic for ohxasphyxiationx.


**HAPPY BIRTHDAY OHXASPHYXIATIONX! I looove you~ you're a wonderful friend. Because your birthday is on AkuRoku day I tried to write some for you... that didn't work out. I'll keep trying. So, here's some Zack/Cloud for now! :D It was fun trying to make Zack a jerk. Uh, don't worry though, things work out. /buckets of love, from Tobi  
**

**Disclaimer: FFVII is not something I own. **

* * *

The rustling continued. The man in the front of the room let out a gusty sigh and flipped through the stacks of papers carelessly strewn everywhere. Cloud raised an eye from his desk and watched his instructor try to find whatever he needed, then went back to his work.

Some time later, he gave a grunt of satisfaction and said tiredly, "Hey, Strife. C'mere."

Cloud slid out of his seat, hating that he sat the closest to Mr. Kunsel's desk. He always got called on to do things for him. "Yes Sir?" he asked, trying not to stare at the hideous mess. Kunsel was smart and a good teacher, he'd give him that, but he wasn't the most organized of people.

Kunsel grabbed a few thick folders, some reports paper-clipped together and a thick textbook. He piled it all into Cloud's arms and asked, "Could you take that to Zack Fair's office?"

Cloud's nearly shouted, "Of course!" Then he lowered his voice and said seriously, "Of course. Yes, Sir. Right away."

If Kunsel noticed anything amiss, he didn't comment. "Thanks." He sounded stressed. "Oh, he might not be in. If he isn't, just leave it on his desk—shit, here-" He scribbled something onto a sticky note and slapped it onto the paper at the top of the little pile Cloud carried.

Cloud shifted the stuff into one arm so he could salute, then left the room, shooting a glance at the rest of his classmates idly working (or not) on their assignment. Everyone in Shin-Ra was working hard to complete everything they needed to before it was time for the new Cadet class to show up; Kunsel was using this block to get some work done and had blindly given them some busywork. Cloud was looking forward to making new friends with the guys who would show up in the next week, and he was glad he wasn't a part-time instructor like Kunsel and didn't have to deal with all this crap.

There was a spring in his step as he shut the door behind him carefully and bounced down the hallway. It was nice, getting out of class to run errands, but this—_this—_this was _excellent_.

Zack Fair. Zack! In just a few minutes, Cloud was going to be face-to-face with the man, and truthfully, he was more than a little nervous. For months now, ever since he had joined Shin-Ra, he had been crushing on the man from afar. Cloud didn't know much about him, other than what basically everyone knew—that he was funny, kind, and liked doing squats—but even so, he liked to think that he and Zack had something special. Or they would, some day.

_And today might be that day_, he thought, then laughed at himself.

His trip to the nineteenth floor wasn't terribly exciting. His arms were starting to ache a little from carrying all this stuff, but it was okay. He'd carry _Sephiroth _if it meant he got to pay Zack a visit, face-to-face, in person.

The man's door wasn't anything special; there was a little plaque on it that said his name and his rank, though, and Cloud looked left and right before running his hands across it. He traced the engraved 'Z' with his pinkie finger, then rapped smartly on the wood, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Come in," Zack called.

Cloud's guts proceeded to twist and leave him with some very weird sensations. There must have been a little bit of doubt in him somewhere that thought that Zack wouldn't be in. He was, however, and Cloud opened the door, swallowing.

Zack looked up from his computer, still typing. He looked abnormally studious—all the times that Cloud had glimpsed him before, he was laughing or chatting to Kunsel, not frowning, and with his lips pursed in concentration. Cloud swallowed again, as Zack looked at him for a second and slowly smiled.

Cloud held his stuff in one arm awkwardly again and saluted. "Cadet Strife, Sir. I have a delivery from Sargent Kunsel."

Zack said nothing, and continued to smile at him. It was unnerving; it wasn't one that he usually made, that made him seem so cheerful—in fact, his eyebrows were drawing together and looked...something. For the third time, Cloud swallowed.

Hesitantly, Cloud stepped forward and placed the heavy stack on the man's desk. Zack finally looked away and slid it all closer to him, and then to the side, beside the keyboard. "Thanks."

The First leant back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. Cloud took a brief moment to observe, wishing he had photographic memory, then bowed his head and took a step back. "...You're welcome, Sir," he said pleasantly, fighting a blush. He didn't even have his scarf right now; nothing to hide behind.

The chair creaked as Zack leant back a little more, twisting from side to side a bit. Looked comfy. He brought one hand forward—ungloved, Cloud noticed—and scratched his cheek. "So."

Cloud titled his head, by now starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Uh... so, Sir?" He edged towards the door, hoping to be dismissed.

Zack suddenly lifted his feet off the floor and came flying back up into a normal sitting position, making Cloud jump. He planted his hands on his knees and said, smile turning into a grin, "So, let's talk about the real reason you're here."

Cold, paralyzing panic flashed through the blond, and his face scrunched up in horror. Then he relaxed a little, starting to get confused. ...What was going on?

The SOLDIER continued to grin at him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you m-mean, Sir."

"Oh, come on, Cloud." Zack's chair creaked as he got to his feet. He walked around the desk—Cloud began to panic—but then leant against it, long legs lazily crossed in front of him. Those uniform pants had never looked so good.

This really wasn't what Cloud had expected. At all. What on Gaia did Zack think he was really here for? And wait, how did he know his first name?

"Uh, s-s-sorry, Sir, but—"

"_Cloud_," Zack said softly. He drew out his name, putting a little _something _onto it that made Cloud's palms tingle. "It's okay. I understand."

If he didn't stop grinning like some all-knowing goon, Cloud was going to wipe it away, perfect handsome superior face be damned. His eyes narrowed. "...Understand what, Sir?"

Zack patted the stack behind him. "You pretended to have papers that I needed to look at so you could come here. You're in love with me."

"_What!"_

Silence—just that stupid smile. Cloud stared, open-mouthed.

Okay, maybe he_ did _like Zack a lot—love or not—but why would Zack just assume that? Kunsel had—

"There's a note from Kunsel!" he screeched, pointing wildly at it, trying to prove his innocence.

Zack shrugged. "You got him to write it. He's a nice guy; he'd do something like that for a friend."

And with that, Cloud's every expectation of Zack died a horrible, screaming, miserable death. He almost couldn't speak, filled with rage to the point where his fingers twitched and trembled.

"T-That's—_not true—_you..." He stopped, making fists with his hands.

Zack got up and strolled towards him, completely at ease and relaxed. For one more time Cloud swallowed, but did it to choke down the mountain of curses and insults he was seconds away from spewing. Insubordination, bad. Right. Even if your superior officer was a stuck up, cocky, full of himself, assuming, presumptuous—fuck, all that meant the same thing—

"Hey. I don't mind," said Zack charmingly, doing that hair thing Cloud had seen him do. Up close he looked, if possible, even more handsome; Cloud ignored that though and took a step back.

Zack's hand came up and he pressed the backs of his fingers against Cloud's cheek. "You're blushing," he murmured. He smiled, leaning down a few inches so he could smile almost into Cloud's hair. His voice was so full of unbelievable _shit_ when he then said, "Seems like proof that you love me, huh Cloudy?"

Cloud slapped the hand touching his face away and sunk a fist into Zack's gut, then wrenched the door open and fled into the hallway.

"Clooouuuud!" Zack called from behind him. Cloud didn't turn around, racing like hell for the elevator. He jabbed the down button and waited, shoulders and back stiff as he ignored the man a few doors down, calling for him.

"I'm sure I'll see you soon," Zack said, waving as the elevator finally arrived and Cloud jumped inside, smacking the buttons to get him away from Zack's floor. He pressed his back against the far wall, watching as Zack waved. Just before the doors closed, Cloud flashed the middle finger. At this point he didn't even care.

His departure had been a little lackluster, due to having to wait for the elevator like an idiot, but Cloud didn't bother worrying about it as he sank to the floor of the elevator, cradling his hand. Ow, Zack's abs had _hurt his knuckles_. Fucking ripped jackass SOLDIERs.

Cloud scampered back to class, mind reeling. He refused to think about what had just happened. His heart was hurting after being let down so _spectacularly, _but he squashed down any self-pitying feelings.

"Was he in?" Kunsel asked when he returned, still trying to straighten out his desk.

Darkly, Cloud said, "Yes he was." Kunsel grunted and Cloud sat back down in his seat, staring at his work. There was no way in hell he'd be able to concentrate.

* * *

"He's coming!"

The other Cadets around Cloud either ignored or glanced at him as the blond abruptly dove to the side. There was a hallway perpendicular to the one he was on, and—

He didn't reach it in time. Cloud had only taken a few frantic bounds down it, dodging other teenagers, when he heard from behind him, "Hey, it's Cloud!"

_Fuck!_

Cloud looked around for something to hide behind, or a place to run to, but Shin-Ra's hallways were very plain, with classroom doors here and there. The closest one was too far away to run to.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Zack's voice rang out: "Hey Cloudy!"

There were other people still walking around, but not enough that Cloud could lose himself in the crowd. He could've whimpered as he slowly turned around, looking warily at Zack and Commander Rhapsodos, who was standing beside him, hands in his coat pockets.

Zack elbowed Genesis lightly. "That's Cloud. He's that guy I was telling you about who's in love with me."

"I'm not in love with you!" Cloud said savagely, nearly spitting.

Genesis had been looking at Zack like he was an idiot—which he _was, was was was—_and then turned to Cloud, eyebrows raised. He sounded absolutely delighted as he said to Zack, "I _see_." Then he laughed, patted Zack on the shoulder and walked away, wiggling his fingers at Cloud. He disappeared around the corner with a flutter of his coat, boot heels clicking.

The bell rang loudly, and Cloud realized that aside from a few late stragglers, he and Zack were the only ones in the hallway.

"You're cutting class to be with me. You don't have to try so hard, you know."

Cloud growled at the unbelievably cheeky tone and ducked his head, clutching his books tightly as he pushed past the other man. Zack got in the way and their shoulders collided harshly.

"Assface," Cloud muttered petulantly, not able to come up with a good insult at the moment.

"We're not even dating yet, jeez," Zack replied, falling into step beside him as Cloud hurried to his classroom. "Wait a few dates for that, will you?"

"Ew."

And with that Cloud finally shook Zack off, spotting his classroom door. He knew he was being terribly insubordinate to a First Class SOLDIER, of all people, but he didn't care. Once he had thought that Zack was all he wanted—he was incredibly friendly and kind, honorable, brave, and hotter than all hell—but reality was a bitch, and the real Zack was a jerk that he was growing to hate. It wasn't just that he was such an _assface. _On some level Cloud felt almost betrayed—Zack had held so many of Cloud's hopes and so much of his love. Having all that crushed made it hurt so much more.

Cloud looked over his shoulder as he finally grasped his classroom's doorknob and shot Zack a look that was almost as sad as it was scathing. He disappeared inside, almost immediately getting chewed out by his instructor.

For a second Zack lingered, debating whether to go tell the SOLDIER that it was his fault Cloud was late. He decided not to and left, chuckling darkly.

* * *

After that, Cloud's days turned into individual little hells. His classes were still interesting (with the slight exception of Kunsel's, maybe), his friends were still friendly, the cafeteria had been serving slightly better food, and the weather was cool, no longer blisteringly hot out in the sun. However, Zack had taken to _stalking him. _There was no other word for it; Cloud would find Zack conveniently waiting a short distance away from all his classrooms, watching him from across the room during lunch, and always seemed to chance across him when Cloud was out on his morning jog.

It was driving Cloud absolutely nuts.

One of the worst 'meetings,' by far, was when Cloud was reporting to Commander Hewley on behalf of the SOLDIER who taught his Materia classes.

Angeal was a nice man, and someone Cloud genuinely looked up to. He had been Zack's teacher, yeah, which certainly wasn't a good thing in Cloud's book, but other than that, he was a model SOLDIER.

"Yes, Sir." Cloud nodded at Angeal's question and smiled when the older man grinned at him, typing something into his computer.

"Thanks, Cadet. You're dismissed. Have a good day."

"You too, Sir," Cloud said happily, saluting and turning for the door.

It opened just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, and he stepped to the side hastily to avoid being smushed. He looked up. _Horror._

"Cloud!" Zack said loudly. He did that pose he kept doing—one hand on his hip, the other carelessly hanging by his side. He looked both condescending and friendly at the same time, and Cloud hated it. He also tended to lean down towards him the longer he talked.

"S-Sir," Cloud seethed, turning and looking back at Angeal, perhaps for help.

"Hey, Angeal. Have you met Cloud?" Zack patted Cloud's shoulder, and the blond squirmed away with a grimace. "He's the kid who's in love with me—I told you about him, right?"

"I'm not in love with you!" Cloud grunted, dodging that patting-hand. _Not anymore, anyway._

"You came to Angeal's office because you know I always hang out here with him and you wanted to see me. It seems like love to me."

Zack's reasoning was always _so, so wrong _and always said _so _self-confidently, like Zack couldn't believe even the tiniest bit that he might be wrong.

Now almost snarling, Cloud spat, "That's _not true_. I had a real reason fo-"

"Seeing me is a real reason," Zack interrupted, smiling. He did that infernal hair thing again, and Cloud tried to edge past the First. Zack's arm came out, wrapped around his shoulders and tugged him closer. No escape.

Angeal was watching all this with far too much interest, chin resting on his hand as he gave Zack a look that seemed fondly exasperated. He sighed and hid a smile behind his hand when Zack said, "So, I bet you want to go on a date this weekend, right? I'm a busy man, but I might be able to make time for you since you want it so bad. Where do you want to go?"

"I'll never go _anywhere _with you," Cloud cried, shoving Zack with all his might. He ran out the door, yelling out a "Sorry Sir!" to Angeal (since he had to witness that shit, and all).

He arrived at his Materia classroom flushed, humiliated and angry enough to explode. This was getting quite out of hand.

* * *

For maybe another three weeks, that was Cloud's life. Daily encounters with Zack, who always had one of his buddies around to make fun of him to. Cloud managed to get away each time, now taking to completely ignoring the man and pretending he hadn't spoken a word.

For many years, in Nibelheim and even for the first few months into Shin-Ra, Cloud had been bullied. It was nothing too new; nowadays he had lots of Cadet friends and no enemies around to beat him up. Zack, though, was reminding him of one of the bullies in Nibelheim who had always taunted him, making fun of him for being gay and always asking, "You want me, faggot?" Cloud would always say no, never, but the kid would just laugh and his fat ugly friends would too. Once, in the middle of the night Cloud had almost cried, calling Zack every name he could think of in his head. He had reigned the urge in, though, and realized that it was more than time to not take any more crap. This was so stupid—he wasn't about to let himself be bullied, even if it was by a SOLDIER First.

The decision came at a perfect time. The very next day came the last straw.

Training had been especially brutal that day. All the Cadets were caked in mud and achy, having been almost literally beaten into the ground during drills. Cloud stayed behind to help clean up—it had sort of been his fault, after all, that the water bottles had ended up strewn across the entire field. Sort of. That's why he was one of the last Cadets in the showers, getting in when mostly everyone else was already out.

Cloud was shampooing his hair when he heard the locker room go strangely quiet. He sighed—SOLDIERs, probably; the Cadet showers were actually closer to the SOLDIER training room than the actual SOLDIER First and Second locker rooms, so occasionally their sweaty, gross superiors would wander in, leaving star-struck Cadets in their wake. Cloud hurried up, running his hands through his hair to get all the soap out.

He cracked open an eye as two people entered the shower area, only to cry out in despair. His eyes clamped shut, trying to desperately erase the image of a naked _Zack and Sephiroth _from his mind. If Zack embarrassed him in front of his hero he was going to die. Fucking _die! _

"Woah, Cloud," Zack said, voice even more unbearable than usual. Cloud opened his eyes again, now burning from shampoo that had gotten in them, and retreated into the spray some more, covering himself with his bodywash bottle.

Sephiroth gave him a quick, silent look and strode to the nearest shower. Cloud didn't look, no he didn't. Sneaking peeks during the showers was like, one of the things that would quickly get you no friends. Zack didn't seem to care about this unspoken rule, though, and very blatantly stared.

Cloud growled as he finished up, grabbing his towel from its place on a hook safely out of the spray and covered himself with it, not looking at either of them as he hurried out.

Zack intercepted him, making Cloud skid to a stop, nearly falling down on the wet floor. Zack chuckled; Sephiroth stayed quiet, watching them as he began to run his hands through his hair. Cloud would have literally _killed _to watch Sephiroth do his hair—damn Zack, damn him. _To hell._

"Look, Seph," Zack began. Cloud groaned on the inside and flushed with humiliation, wishing he had a gun, or, like, Wutaian poison needles, or shuriken, or a chainsaw—

"Cloud waited in the showers so he'd catch me naked. Aww, how cute."

"SHUT UP!" Cloud yelled, trying to get past him. "How was I supposed to know you'd come here? Leave me alone!"

Zack cooed and gently grabbed his face. He leaned closer and tilted Cloud's head up; the blond swallowed, remembering that Zack was quite naked and that _Sephiroth was watching all this._

"You're blushing again," he murmured, running his thumb across Cloud's cheek.

"I am not!" Cloud howled. He froze, realizing he was acting like an idiot in front of his General. He shot Sephiroth a wary look, swallowed again. "U-Uhh," he began. "Uhm, Z-Zack. Er. Come here, please?"

He grabbed Zack's hand and cautiously began to tug him out of the showers (away from Sephiroth). Zack stood still, dumbfounded for a moment, then grinned and followed. The locker room was by now nearly empty, and Cloud pulled him to the side, where they were alone and hidden behind a row of lockers.

"Oooh, you're bringing me somewhere secret, I didn't know you had it in you Cl—_OW!_"

Cloud stomped as hard as he could on Zack's toes with his heel and punched him right in the nose. In a battle he'd never be able to do something like that to a SOLDIER, but Zack's guard was remarkably lowered around him. Probably thought his little victim was harmless! Cloud then bolted, feeling Zack's hand come out at the last minute, reaching for him. He managed to get the towel, which Cloud gladly ditched, even though he was naked now. He sprinted through the locker room to where his clothes were, near the door and frantically squirmed into his pants, then grabbed everything and ran out with it.

He spent the rest of the day in fear. What if Zack came, pissed off and with a broken nose, and cut him in half with his sword? What if Sephiroth came, disappointed that he was such a spaz and had harmed his superior officer? Having Sephiroth being disappointed in him seemed like a worse fate, in all seriousness.

It was during the middle of sixth period, when Cloud was listening to Kunsel yap about financing or whatever the hell, when he made up his mind.

This had to stop. Really. He was _not _about to go through another day like this one, constantly looking over his shoulder and actually _afraid _for his well-being. Whatever feelings for Zack that still lingered had finally been crushed. Bullies were bullies, and Cloud was not the type to let bullies win.

After dinner, Cloud told his friends he had to take care of something and walked to the elevator, face set in determination. There was a female Turk in the elevator with him, and even she didn't seem too keen on talking to him when he was like this; she stood still in the corner farthest from him and said nothing.

He got off on Zack's floor and began walking down, giving himself a pep talk as he did. By the time he reached the man's door he was shaking with rage, ready to give Zack the talking down of his life.

He knocked five times, so hard his knuckles hurt. Not fast, because he didn't want to seem frantic. Zack's voice called him in, and Cloud took a breath before pushing the door open.

His eyes landed on Zack's hideously handsome face and stayed there. He bristled, stiff and composed, yet looking like he was going to fly off the handle at any given moment.

Cloud didn't even notice Genesis, Angeal or Sephiroth, who were sitting in the other chairs in the room. They looked at the bloodthirsty little blond and split, leaving the room and shutting the door behind them so quickly even Zack almost didn't see it.

The First blinked at Cloud for a second, then smiled.

"Hey, baby. You really did a number on my nose earlier. I had to be FullCured! Tough love, huh?"

"Shut the hell up!" Cloud barked. Before Zack could get another word in otherwise, he pointed and said coldly, voice shaking, "You better stop this. I'm sick of it. I don't love you, and I never will. I never _once _came to see you because I _love you_. You're the one stalking me, if you haven't noticed!"

Zack listened to Cloud rant calmly, hands folded on the top of his desk like an attentive schoolgirl. He didn't blink, even when Cloud started coming up with reasons why Zack would be doing all this, then decided that he didn't care, as long as it stopped. He told Zack how embarrassed he always was these days, and how he had even looked up to him before, but now thought he was lower than dirt.

When he finished, panting a little bit, Zack smiled. "C'mere."

"_No!_"

"Please?"

"No! I hate you, and I'm leaving. Goodbye, Sir."

Zack knew that the other three were probably listening through the door and probably wouldn't let Cloud leave just yet. Even so, he sat back in his chair and tried to look welcoming. "I just want to talk to you. Come here, Cloud."

Cloud glared, not trusting him for a second. He hesitantly stepped closer, only sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the desk once Zack gestured for him to do so. Zack had one of those little plaques with his name on it in front of the keyboard; Cloud stared at it instead of at the man the name belonged to.

"...I totally get why you're mad at me."

Cloud snorted at that, putting his feet on the chair too and wrapping his arms around his shins. He scoffed and looked to the side, muttering something under his breath.

"Hey-"

"I don't want to talk to you," Cloud sighed.

Zack didn't seem deterred. "Just listen to me for a sec, 'kay?"

The blond scowled, but nodded once.

Grinning, Zack asked, "Do you want proof that _I _love _you_?"

Cloud's gaze snapped up to meet his. He said nothing, pretty lips pursed in confusion, and Zack continued, tapping his chin with his pointer in mock thought.

"I had a dream about you last night, and the night before that. Hm, your I.D. is my cellphone's wallpaper. Your birthday is on my calendar," he flipped through it to August and pointed at the nineteenth, "and I make trips to watch the Cadet training all the time to see how you're doing."

Poor Cloud continued to stare, eyes flicking from Zack's face, to his mouth, to the calendar.

Zack smiled, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head, much like he had the first time Cloud met him. He winked. "I think you're the sweetest and most gorgeous kid I've ever seen, and I spent a while thinking about how I was gonna meet you and stuff before I decided to be the biggest asshole you've ever met. That way you'd always be thinking about me, even if it wasn't good stuff, you know?" He leaned forward over the desk and folded his hands again, dropping his chin onto them. "I like being all you think about."

"...I think you're a creepy stalker," Cloud said meekly. "And you're really dumb." He stopped and floundered, twisting his mouth.

Zack helped him out. "You don't believe you're in my phone?" He pulled it out with a flourish and pressed a button on the side. Sure enough, there was Cloud's awkwardly smiling face on the screen.

When Cloud next spoke, his voice was soft and reluctant, like he was afraid Zack was still fucking with him. There was hope, though—despite what Cloud had said about never loving Zack, he was lying. He was a jerk sometimes, yes, but that childish hope that people change, that it's just a joke, hadn't died. "You really like me?"

Zack smiled softly, flapping his fingers a few times towards himself. Cloud realized he wanted his hands and hesitantly reached out, entwining his fingers with Zack's. The First ran his thumbs across Cloud's small, slightly red knuckles and breathed, "Yeah."

"You have a really weird way of showing it," Cloud huffed. "Why couldn't you, like, just ask me out for a date or something? I really was really mad at you. I even hated you a little."

Zack laughed. "'Cause that's boring! And you'll forgive me, right?" He flashed Cloud the big, sad eyes that apparently even Sephiroth couldn't resist.

"...Maybe."

"Heh. You're—GO AWAY!"

Cloud jumped, then looked at the door when he heard the sound of loud footsteps. Zack stayed still with a scary face for a few seconds, then smiled at him again. "Sorry. Those nosy bastards."

"Wait—the Commanders and the General were in here when I came in—right?"

"Yup." Zack laughed at Cloud's face and pulled him to his feet, then grabbed him around the middle. Cloud found himself suddenly sitting on the desk, feet on either side of Zack's knees up on the chair. It sunk in, right then, what was going on. Everything.

He smiled. "Uh, just so you know. Like. Kunsel really did ask me to come here the first time. I was happy to do it, though, 'cause I liked you back then. Afterwards, not so much."

"Good. You're red again," Zack pointed out gleefully, poking his cheek. "You sure do that a lot, huh?" Cloud's growl died in his throat when Zack stood and pressed his lips to one of his heated cheeks. He drifted to the other, pecking the tip of his nose on the way.

Sufficiently charmed, Cloud slid a hand up Zack's chest, feeling the fabric of his uniform. He cupped the back of his head, thumb just in front of his ear, and gently tugged him down. Zack Fair—_Zack Fair—_the guy he had been hopelessly crushing on for months now, and then hated for a time too, actually liked him. A lot, it seemed. What the hell.

Zack's kisses were a lot more like the Zack he disliked than the sweet, friendly Zack. That isn't to say he didn't like the kisses—quite the contrary. The man's hands were soft and gentle as they wormed into his hair and rested on his hip. His lips, however, were rough and his tongue merciless; it was all Cloud could do to wrap his arms around the man's neck and try to keep up.

They ended up with their positions reversed somehow, with Zack leaning against the desk and Cloud standing, on his tiptoes and flush against Zack's body. Bubbling happiness and giddiness made Cloud giggle every time their lips made that popping noise—somehow it was immensely funny, and Zack was laughing at Cloud's cute disbelief that this was really happening, was real.

After a few minutes of this, lazy and unhurried, Zack pulled back, a strange twinkle in his eyes. Cloud tried to capture his lips again, but Zack held his hand up, between them so Cloud smooched his palm. "Easy, Tiger." He slid his hand down Cloud's arm until he could grasp his hand, then pulled him towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Cloud asked, slightly unsteady on his feet and in a daze.

"Out. We've got some dates to catch up on."

Cloud closed the door behind them and stumbled as Zack yanked on his arm. The blond laughed again, smile so wide his face hurt. "You're so crazy."

Zack put an arm around his shoulder and dragged him down to the elevator. He kissed Cloud's temple, then his eyebrow, murmuring, knowing it was true, or it would be, "You know you love me."


End file.
